It is in books, poems, paintings which often give us the confidence to take seriously feelings in ourselves that we might otherwise never have thought to acknowledge.
Alain De BottonRead
It is in dialogue with pain that many beautiful things acquire their value. Acquaintance with grief turns out to be one of the more unusual prerequisites of architectural appreciation. We might, quite aside from all other requirements, need to be a little sad before buildings can properly touch us.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Experiencing pain and grief can enhance our appreciation for beauty in architecture.
In this quote, Alain De Botton suggests that our experiences of pain and sadness deepen our understanding and appreciation of beauty, particularly in architecture. The notion is that raw emotions impact our perception, making us more receptive to the profound messages and aesthetics found within buildings, which might otherwise be overlooked in times of happiness or indifference.
Themes
PainGriefBeautyArchitectureAppreciation
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the emotional impact of art and architecture, this quote can illustrate the connection between personal experiences and aesthetic appreciation.
More from Alain De Botton
All quotes →Taking architecture seriously therefore makes some singular and strenuous demands upon us...It means conceding that we are inconveniently vulnerable to the colour of our wallpaper and that our sense of purpose may be derailed by an unfortunate bedspread
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The more closely we analyze what we consider 'sexy,' the more clearly we will understand that eroticism is the feeling of excitement we experience at finding another human being who shares our values and our sense of the meaning of existence.
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Good books put a finger on emotions that are deeply our own - but that we could never have described on our own.
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It is the most ambitious and driven among us who are the most sorely in need of having our reckless hopes dampened through immersive dousings in the darkness which religions have explored. This is a particular priority for secular Americans, perhaps the most anxious and disappointed people on earth, for their nation infuses them with the most extreme hopes about what they may be able to achieve in their working lives and relationships.
Alain De BottonRead
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